Cocktail Of The Day- The Negroni Sbagliato

Earlier this month- in a very last minute and welcome turn of events- I had the opportunity to spend 10 days in Europe. More specifically, I visited Milan for a glorious 4 days of eating and drinking which a group of truly amazing food, wine and cocktail writers and photographers. Then a hop-skip and a jump over to Mallorca to meet up with Joann Pai of Slice of Pai. Not only did I get to spend 6 days with one of my closest friends. This is also the woman that taught me everything I know about my camera. To say it was an inspiring trip would be an understatement.

There are so many things I wish I could recreate at home- the perfectly cooked pasta with a simple tomato sauce, bocconcini and fresh basil at an adorable outdoor lunch spot. The espresso enjoyed standing up at the counter before strolling to the next cafe. The seafood paella I savoured seaside while sipping on sangria. It’s impossible. I can’t perfect homemade pasta. I can’t recreate an oceanside meal with the warm sun beating down on my bare skin.

What I can do, however, is the negroni sbagliato. There are so many things that Italy gets right and their aperitivo traditions are certainly one of them. While in Milan, I had the opportunity to visit the home of the Negroni Sbagliato. As the story goes, a bartender at Bar Basso accidently added sparkling wine to a negroni instead of gin. A happy accident indeed. Sbagliato roughly translates to “bungled” in english. Almost 50 years later, the bar continues to make these drinks by the thousands, serving them in glasses bigger than my head.

Since I’ve been home it’s really all I want to drink and while my glassware pales in comparison, I’ve been able to scratch the itch regularly as the Sbagliato is such a delightfully simple drink to make. If you should ever find yourself in Milan, don’t miss Bar Basso. You won’t regret it. In the meantime, make one of these for yourself and let me know what you think. Hope y’all had a beautiful long weekend!

Recipe:

1oz Campari
1oz Sweet Vermouth
1oz Sparkling Wine

Build in a rocks glass over ice. Stir and garnish with an orange twist.

And just in case you were curious, here are a few more sites from my recent adventures. Cheers!